News

An amendment recently introduced in Congress could push back the admission of foreign nurses in the United States by several years. The amendment would remove the per-country cap on visas for highly skilled immigrants and instead allocate the visas on a first-come, first served basis according to how long an applicant has waited for a visa. 

LeadingAge has launched the Center for Managed Care Solutions & Innovation, a one-stop shop of tools, resources, and education to help members succeed in managed care, integrated services and other alternative payment models. 

Help us break down training barriers! After launching LeadingAge Minnesota Foundation’s OnTrack Nursing Assistant Training with great success, the OnTrack team is now vetting the needs of members to determine if the online, on-demand training platform should be expanded to include other key positions.  

LeadingAge has launched the Center for Managed Care Solutions & Innovation, a one-stop shop of tools, resources, and education to help members succeed in managed care, integrated services and other alternative payment models. 

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced that close to 1,300 entities have signed up to participate in the Bundled Payment for Care Improvement Advanced (BPCI Advanced) Model on a voluntary basis. A new blog post from Health Dimensions Group (HDG) provides basic facts, a fresh perspective on what this means and what providers should do next.   

Help us break down training barriers! LeadingAge Minnesota Foundation’s OnTrack Nursing Assistant Training launched in December 2017 with great success. At this time, the OnTrack team is vetting the needs of members to determine if OnTrack’s online, on-demand training platform should be expanded to include other key positions. 

As we have previously reported, the updated Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) PPS rates took effect for the year that began on Oct. 1. Since our last article, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a correction to the rates that impacted the wage index for some regions. The only Minnesota regions affected by this correction are Duluth and Rochester, and both by only pennies a day. 

A bill that would end the mandatory nurse aide training lock-out and allow nursing homes to regain their nursing assistant training authority as soon as deficiencies have been corrected needs more support in Congress. We need your help! Read on to learn how you can urge your U.S. Representative to co-sponsor and advance this bill. 

Medicare Open Enrollment for 2019 coverage begins Monday, Oct. 15 and runs through Dec. 7, 2018.  The Medicare Annual Enrollment Period is when seniors can choose to enroll or switch to a new Medicare plan for 2019, including a Medicare Advantage plan or Medicare Part D prescription drug plan.  

The OnTrack Nursing Assistant Training program has hit another milestone – our 200^th student! In fact, we have surpassed that milestone, bringing in our 207^th student in early October. 

This week marks yet another milestone in LeadingAge Minnesota history. Heidi Simpson, Vice President of Education, is celebrating her 40^th anniversary. 

The United States Department of Labor (DOL) has published a proposed rule in the Federal Register (“Expanding Employment, Training, and Apprenticeship Opportunities for 16 and 17 Year Olds in Health Care Occupations Under the Fair Labor Standards Act”) to address an issue that has troubled LeadingAge Minnesota members for years. 

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) this week published the revised Minnesota Food Code. The revised food code is effective Jan. 1, 2019. 

As we near election day in Minnesota, candidates for political office may be reaching out to nursing homes and assisted living settings to get access to their buildings for door knocking or lit-dropping. We want to reminder providers that Minnesota law makes clear that candidates should only be denied access to multiple unit dwellings in limited settings.  

For the first time in LeadingAge Minnesota history, the Board of Directors will be led by three female leaders. Nancy Stratman, Erin Hilligan and Barbara Klick were elected as Chair, Chair-Elect and Secretary-Treasurer by unanimous support at last week’s Annual Business Meeting. 

A special moment took place during last week’s Annual Meeting and Leadership Forum when LeadingAge Minnesota members recognized, honored and celebrated Heidi Simpson, who marks her 40^th anniversary with our Association in October.   

LeadingAge Minnesota recently mailed out complimentary copies of the 2018 compensation reports for nursing facilities and senior housing providers to members who participated in those surveys. Copies of those reports are now available for purchase by members who did not participate. 

Medication management continues to be a frequently cited tag for Comprehensive Home Care surveys. Four of the 19 medication tags are in the top 10 most frequently cited almost 50 percent of the time. The October Assisted Living/Home Care Nurse Leader Network (ALNET) meetings will focus on medication management and provide information and resources to help you remain in compliance. 

The massive shift that is about to take place in Medicare will affect hundreds of thousands of Minnesota enrollees, including some of the seniors you serve. Medicare Cost Plans will end in December 2018 and seniors affected by this change will need to enroll in new Medicare coverage for 2019. To help ensure a seamless transition, the State of Minnesota has developed helpful publications that you can share with your residents and families.  

LeadingAge Minnesota is working with the Minnesota Department of Health and other stakeholders to develop another series of provider-surveyor joint training sessions for care centers. Specific locations are still being finalized, but the dates are confirmed: Oct. 30, Oct. 31, Nov. 1, Nov. 8 and Nov. 9. There will be two metro sessions, and one each in northern, central and southern Minnesota.